Which method is used to reduce dose to pediatric patients during CT scans?

The method that effectively reduces dose to pediatric patients during CT scans involves decreasing the milliampere-seconds (mAs), limiting the number of acquisition phases, and increasing the pitch.

Decreasing the mAs directly lowers the amount of radiation exposure received by the patient, which is crucial in pediatric imaging due to children's increased sensitivity to radiation and their longer life expectancy, which increases the potential for radiation-related health risks.

Limiting acquisition phases minimizes the number of scans or segments taken during the procedure, which further reduces the dose. Each additional scan phase can add to the total radiation exposure, so keeping this to a minimum is essential for safety.

Increasing the pitch, which refers to the distance a CT scanner advances during one rotation relative to the width of the slice being imaged, allows for faster scanning and can also lower the radiation dose because less overlap occurs between slices. This results in fewer x-ray exposures while still producing adequate image quality.

Overall, this combination of strategies reflects a conscientious approach to ensure that pediatric patients are exposed to the least amount of radiation necessary for diagnosis while maintaining diagnostic image quality.